Nothing prevented him from switching parties at any point. He STILL considers himself a “loyal Republican” because he “voted” for one - himself. He chose to keep his mouth shut and intentions oblivious. He lied to his constituents, he lied to the party, he violated his oath & pledge, he kept lying all the way up until his vote. He told everyone and pledged his support to Mumpower. But let’s make no mistake here, he’s a stupid man and a puppet for the real power in the House, 18-year Speaker Naifeh, one of the biggest thugs and tyrants in American politics today. He had to keep Naifeh up with him on the Speaker’s rostrum because he has no idea about parliamentary procedure and was literally taking orders as he stood there as Naifeh whispered in his ear. I’ve witnessed some real disgusting spectacles and power grabs, and that was one of the most egregious I’ve seen in a civilized nation in recent memory. One traitorous little weasel gave the finger to over 1.1 million Tennesseans that cast their votes for Republicans to be the majority party - over 54% of the vote.

122
posted on 01/13/2009 6:15:11 PM PST
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

I convinced that on paper we should have 30 seats. I didn’t know of these ratings. 2008 Dillard 50, Maloney 33. Most score better in 2008 than 2007. Possibly they could use some refinement and a wider selection of bills.

This infuriates me. I really hate that this has happened to our state and to a good man like Jason Mumpower. I know Jason and it just makes me sick to see him the victim of such traitorous behavior. Democrats and RINOS are the lowest form of life in this country. They undermine everything good and decent. I say we should fight for a recall of this horrible man.

I warned Stacey Campfield that Boss Hogg wasn’t going quietly and that Mumpower needed to get some Democrats to ensure a cushion (even if it meant doling out Chairmanships to them) to guard against this chicanery. You couldn’t afford to take any chances with a 1-seat majority. All Naifeh had to do was find a very weak link, and he found his nice little RINO meatpuppet for the next 2 years. Kent Williams is a brainless weasel. He doesn’t know how the House operates and has to ask everyone (read: Naifeh) how to even run a session. He was barking like a rabid dog at his now FORMER GOP colleagues, “You got a PROBLEM with me as Speaker ?”, etc.

I did feel sorry when the tv cameras cut to Mumpower’s reaction, he did not know what to do. I wish they had taken my advice. If I was on his staff, I’d have played hardball and gotten as many Democrats to come over as possible, especially focusing on the ones Naifeh has screwed over the years. You can’t play honorably with criminals and thugs. They change the rules to suit their agenda.

128
posted on 01/13/2009 7:34:01 PM PST
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

Williams would have to be removed from the House in order to necessitate another election (assuming there would be one, and the Speaker Pro Tempore, a Democrat hack and crony of Naifeh’s, wouldn’t move up for the remainder of the session). I can’t recall the last time when a Speaker was removed (or died) during a term. If he was removed, I have a sneaking suspicion yet another weak-willed RINO would be bribed and installed as a puppet for Naifeh, such as former Minority Leader Steve McDaniel. There may be a dozen such RINOs in the House that are vulnerable to bribery/coercion. I’ll add, too, after seeing Williams in action that he doesn’t appear mentally sound and will snap under the pressure of this session, and he fully deserves to. I hope the GOP “Gaslight”’s his butt right into the nervous hospital.

The California Democrats did this in 1995 after the GOP won a majority in the Assembly. It took the Republicans a year and recalling 2 RINO puppets to finally install the party choice as Speaker. Sadly, he wasn’t in office a whole year before the Democrats won back the majority in ‘96.

130
posted on 01/13/2009 7:56:00 PM PST
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

Believe me, I'm not being intentionally obtuse but I don't know how this punk thinks that this ham handed maneuver will endure.

Thanks for alerting us to this story. It's one of the craziest political capers I've seen in a while. I'd rather kick Williams' ass out of the Party, lose the majority and use the event as a rallying cry for 2010 then recognize a guy like Williams as any kind of Leader.

A group of RINOs (16 ?) and all the Democrats voted for a RINO Speaker in TX, but this was expected to happen, as had been warned for some time that Craddick wouldn’t have the votes for a 4th term. Wrong and weasely, but not out of the blue. This in TN literally was out of the blue. This guy is a NOBODY, barely out of his freshman term, and not very mentally sound. He lied to his colleagues right up until the vote that he was supporting the Republican candidate for Speaker. He was sworn in within seconds of the farce vote and kept within arms’ reach of the Democrat Boss the entire time.

133
posted on 01/13/2009 8:37:15 PM PST
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

Short of finding a way to remove him from the legislature, this stunt will stand for 2 whole years. We don’t, to my knowledge, have a recall option for legislators. Speakers are very autocratic and have absolute power (the legislature, with a one-seat majority could govern without input from the Governor), so the Republicans can remain totally shut out, even with a technical majority (of course, that’s not the case any more). We only have a majority in the overall general assembly of both bodies, which is good for electing Constitutional officers (although we’re about to find out if even that will work tomorrow when they vote on them), but we need majorities electing Republicans to the Speakerships or we get nothing.

135
posted on 01/13/2009 8:41:56 PM PST
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

Carter County in East TN ? It’s a solid Republican district. The Dems don’t field candidates too often in it... now we know why. Williams beat a Conservative Vietnamese-American incumbent in the primary in ‘06, quite probably with Democrat help. The prior incumbent sought a rematch and lost by a wider margin (incumbents don’t lose too often). Since the Dems stripped a member of their own party who won a primary, even if Williams were to be renominated again in ‘10 (and frankly, I hope he doesn’t last long enough to make it), we could use that as a precedent and strip him and award the nomination to his predecessor. He’d then have to run as a write-in with Democrat support, and write-ins almost never win except in extraordinary circumstances (such as when the widow of a Senator was elected when her husband was assassinated by his opponent).

136
posted on 01/13/2009 8:47:27 PM PST
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

Well at this point the best I can say is in my tag line. Believe me no one in the Tennessee government disgust me more than Lord Naifeh /extreme sarcasm in use of the title. He has kept the Speakers seat away from the voice and will of people of this state as long as he's held it. I know from experience no one talks to him or writes him and gets heard unless they are from his district.

I was so enraged by the state GOP this election the only one I voted for this time around was the state Rep. The national offices I voted Independent. Can you think of anything in this clowns district he was wanting that Naifeh and the DEMs may have promised for this?

137
posted on 01/13/2009 9:31:20 PM PST
by cva66snipe
($.01 The current difference between the DEM's and GOP as well as their combined worth to this nation)

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